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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery lost $1.35 to $93.07 on the New York Merc, while Brent for November lost $1.27 to $97.70 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $15.25 to WTI ($77.82), down from a discount of $13.20. Natural gas for October lost 10.3 cents to $3.91. The TSX energy index lost 2.11 points to close at 305.16.

Penn West Petroleum Ltd. (PWT) added 60 cents to $8.33 on 5.14 million shares, after finishing its accounting review and releasing its financials for the second quarter. It still has a way to go before it reaches prereview levels. The stock fell to $8.57 from $9.94 on July 30, after Penn West disclosed an internal accounting probe that at the time had found $381-million in improperly classified expenses. These served to understate operating costs and thus overstate operating cash flow and netbacks. The company said it would restate some its financials and delay filing its second quarter results while the probe was in progress. Today, it detailed the results of its review, showing the adjustments for 2012, 2013 and the first quarter of 2014. It increased its reported operating costs by $367-million over the period and lowered its reported funds flow by $145-million. Reported net income actually increased slightly in 2013 (3 per cent) and the first quarter of 2014 (7 per cent), decreasing only in 2012 (16 per cent), because of the classification of certain costs and credits. Debt and cash positions were not affected. Over all, said Penn West, the mess is behind it and there are no effects on its fundamentals, business plan or production guidance. Investors and analysts were relieved. National Bank Financial analyst Kyle Preston wrote, "The accounting situation does not appear to be as bad as first anticipated," while FirstEnergy Capital analyst Katrina Karkkainen thought that the results from the review were "reasonably in line to slightly ahead of expectations."

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